EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Food and Veterinary Office

Programme of Audits and Inspections 2008

ISSN: 1830-902X

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3

2. Number and distribution of audits and inspections ............................................... 3

3. Audits and inspections in Member States............................................................... 4

3.1. General Audit Member States .................................................................. 4

3.2. Other Member States ............................................................................. 5

4. Inspections in EFTA Countries ................................................................................. 7

5. Inspections in Candidate Countries and Western Balkans .................................... 7

6. Inspections in Third Countries................................................................................. 8

Annex 1: Inspections in Member States, by Country in alphabetical order....................... 10

Annex 2: Inspections in EFTA Countries, by Country in alphabetical order....................... 13

Annex 3: Inspections in Candidate Countries and Western Balkans, by Country in alphabetical order ................................................................................................... 13

Annex 4: Inspections in Third Countries, by Country in alphabetical order ...................... 14

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1. Introduction

This document sets out the audit and inspection programme of DG Health and Consumer Protection for 2008 with a detailed plan for January to December.

Careful consideration has been given - together with competent authorities in Member States - to the scheduling of inspections in Member States to avoid a disproportionate burden by control visits during a particular period.

There is always a degree of uncertainty attached to any SANCO inspection plan. Of necessity, it must remain flexible to enable it to respond to emergencies, other urgent issues and unforeseen circumstances. As in previous years, adjustments to the plan will be required as the year progresses. Inspections in response to emergencies can only be made by cancelling or postponing planned missions. Also, the carrying out of certain inspections will depend on the timely availability of resources as well as, in the case of certain third countries, the timely availability of information required to allow the mission to take place..

An update of the programme will therefore, as usual, be presented in June 2008.

The programme is also published at the DG Health and Consumer Protection website:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fvo/inspectprog/index_en.htm

2. Number and distribution of audits and inspections

The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) has scheduled 256 audits and inspections for 2008. Of these, a capacity of around 65 specific audits has been set aside for the general audits planned in 6 Member States in 2008 (see chapter 3.1. General Audits).

As shown in table 1, these 65 specific audits make up a quarter of all planned audits and inspections in 2008 and will be carried out across all areas of the food chain including animal welfare and plant health. The majority of the remaining inspections will deal with food safety issues (54%). However, in line with the "farm to fork" approach, a large number of food safety inspections naturally also cover animal health and welfare elements. 4 and 3% of inspections, respectively, will specifically focus on controls in the animal health and welfare areas, and 4% of inspections are targeted at phytosanitary controls. General reviews - inspections to develop and/or update country profiles and to review overall progress on follow-up to FVO report recommendations - make up a further 9% of the planned audits and inspections.

An overview on the geographical breakdown of audits and inspections is given in table 2: The majority of inspections will take place in the European Union (64%). In EFTA countries, 2% of inspections are planned, while 4% of inspections will take place in candidate countries, and 30% in other third countries.

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Table 1: Breakdown of audits and inspections 2008 by main areas:

AREA No. of audits and inspections %

General Audits 65 26

Food safety 139 54

Animal health 11 4

Animal welfare 8 3

Plant health 11 4

General review 22 9

Total 256 100

Table 2: Geographical breakdown of audits and inspections 2008:

COUNTRY No. of audits and inspections %

EU-27 165 64

EFTA countries 4 2

Candidate countries 11 4

Other third countries 76 30

Total 256 100

3. Audits and inspections in Member States

3.1. General Audit Member States

Following on from the two pilot audits in Austria and the Netherlands in 2007, the FVO will carry out six general audits in the framework of the Official Feed and Food Controls Regulation1 in 2008. Main purpose of the general audits, in accordance with Article 45 of the Regulation is to verify that, overall, official controls take place in Member States in accordance with the multi-annual national control plans referred to in Article 41 of the Regulation and in compliance with Community law. Thus, Article 45 introduces an integrative approach to the Office's audit activities.

1 Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of

compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules.

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The general audits will be supplemented by specific audits targeted at specific areas and sectors across all main control systems (compare Table 4) in Member States. The list of specific audits for each Member State is determined by combining the regular prioritisation process with a desk analysis of the Member States' multi-annual national control plans and additional information such as Member State's own audit reports.

2008 is the first year of a foreseen three year cycle of general audits in all Member States.

Table 3: General audits in Member States in 2008

GENERAL AUDITS Member States

Estonia

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Slovakia

A capacity of 65

specific audits across

all control systems

Spain

3.2. Other Member States

Table 4 gives an overview on inspections planned in the remaining 21 Member States by area and subject:

Table 4: Inspections 2008 in Member States (except general audit Member States)

AREA/SECTOR COUNTRY/REGION

Disease Contingency plans EL, PL

Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Eradication Control Programmes

EL, PL

Classical Swine Fever Eradication Control Programme

RO, BG

African Swine Fever and Swine Vesicular Disease Eradication Control Programmes

IT

Control System for Animal Health

Intra-community trade in live animals

SI, SE, LT, BE* *carry-over from 2007

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AREA/SECTOR COUNTRY/REGION

Salmonella control programmes / Table Eggs

BE, IT, CZ

Babyfood UK

Hygiene Package

IT, PL, BG, RO, EL, CY, FR, LT, BE, CZ, LV, LU, DK, NL*, SI, AT* *carry-over from 2007

Poultry Meat FR

Control System for Food of Animal Origin

Production and storage of food of animal origin / imports to the EU

ES (Ceuta)* *carry-over from 2007, not part of general audit

Control System for Import of Animals and Food of Animal Origin

Import / transit controls / Border Inspection Posts (BIPs)

BE, CZ, DK, BG, RO, PL, FR, PT, UK

Control system for Feeding stuffs and Animal Nutrition Feed safety EL

BSE BG, RO, FR, BE

Scrapie BG, RO, EL

Control System for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies / Animal By-Products

Animal By-Products BG, RO, MT, FR, UK, IT

Control System for Veterinary Medicines and Residues Residues EL, PT

Genetically modified feed and food RO, FR, BG

Food contact materials and use of food additives DK Control System for Foodstuffs

and Food Hygiene

Food hygiene I/ HACCP PT, FI, CZ, RO

Control System for Imports of Food of Plant Origin Import controls RO, BG

Control System for Plant Protection Products Pesticides RO, BG

Transport and slaughter BE, IT, UK Control System for Animal Welfare Farms, transport and

slaughter PL, LT, RO, BG

Protected zones (Daktylosphaira vitifoliae, Ips sexdentatus, Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

CY

Control System for Plant Health Outbreaks

(PT: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus IT: Rynchophorus ferrugineus UK: Phytophthora kernoviae NL: Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid)

PT, IT, UK, NL* *(carry-over inspection from 2007, including scientific imports)

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GENERAL REVIEWS

General review missions AT, BG, BE, CY, CZ, DK, FR, EL, LU, LV, LT, MT, NL, PT, RO, SE, SI, UK

A list of inspections, categorised by country in alphabetical order, is shown in Annex 1.

4. Inspections in EFTA Countries

The majority of inspections in EFTA countries will be done in the framework of the agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA agreement) and agreements between the European Union and Switzerland. A number of missions will be joint missions between the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and the FVO.

Table 5: SANCO Inspection Programme 2008 in EFTA Countries

AREA/SECTOR COUNTRY/REGION

Red meat / Meat products, Milk / Dairy products Switzerland

Fish / Fishery products Iceland Food of Animal Origin

Import controls on products of animal origin and live animals

Switzerland

Feedingstuffs and Animal Nutrition

Feed additives and Pre-mixtures Switzerland

A list of inspections, categorised by country in alphabetical order, is shown in Annex 2.

5. Inspections in Candidate Countries and Western Balkans

The Food and Veterinary Office continues to evaluate the progress candidate countries are making in their preparations for accession. 2008 will see inspections to Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on a wide range of food safety, animal health and animal welfare issues. General reviews of follow-up to FVO recommendations and with a view to continuing the development of country profiles, will accompany the programme in candidate countries. The FVO will also carry out general reviews in two Western Balkan countries, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania.

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Table 6: SANCO Inspection Programme 2008 in Candidate Countries and

Western Balkans

AREA/SECTOR COUNTRY/REGION

General review Animal and Public Health

Croatia, Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Control Systems for Food of Animal Origin (and Animal Health) Fish / Fishery products Turkey

Control System for Import of Animals and Food of Animal Origin

Import controls / Border Inspection Posts Turkey

Control Systems for Foodstuffs and Food Hygiene, for Imports of Food of Plant Origin and for Plant Protection Products

Food of Plant Origin Croatia, Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Control System for Animal Welfare Farm – Transport – Slaughter Croatia

GENERAL REVIEW MISSIONS "ENLARGEMENT" (CANDIDATE COUNTRIES AND WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES)

General review missions Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Albania

A list of inspections, categorised by country in alphabetical order, is shown in Annex 3.

6. Inspections in Third Countries

In third countries, the FVO needs to ensure that competent authorities correctly apply relevant EU standards or their equivalent with respect to animals, plants and products intended for export to the European Union.

The majority of audits and inspections will focus on the assessment of eligibility/approvals for export. Various factors play a role in the selection of inspections in third countries, such as size of the existing trade and potential health risks associated with the goods to be exported to the EU. In addition, notifications to the rapid alert systems for feed and food (RASFF) and plant health (EUROPHYT) also play an important role in prioritising inspections.

While the main part of these inspections is targeted at a review of existing approvals of major trade partners and follow-up to previous missions, there are also a number of new requests for approval which will need to be evaluated. The readiness of application files (such as, for example, timely replies by competent authorities to pre-mission questionnaires), but also certain specific regional circumstances (e.g. security considerations), are major conditions for the completion of the inspection programme. Therefore, a number of third country inspections can only be programmed provisionally at this stage.

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Table 7: SANCO Inspection Programme 2008 in Third Countries

AREA/SECTOR COUNTRY/REGION

Pre-listing evaluation Hong-Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Moldova, Russia, Singapore

Poultry / Poultry Meat / Poultry Meat Products / Eggs

China, Israel, Moldova

Red Meat / Meat Products

Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Brazil Namibia, New Zealand, Paraguay, South Africa, Swaziland, Uruguay

Milk / Dairy Products Australia, India, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, USA

Food of Animal Origin (incl. Animal Health aspects where applicable)

Fish / Fishery Products / Live Bivalve Molluscs (incl. aquaculture where appropriate)

Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, China, Eritrea,

Faroe Islands, Ghana, Greenland, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Rep. Congo, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, USA

Feeding Stuffs and Animal Nutrition

Feed Additives and Pre-Mixtures India, Japan

Gelatine India TSEs and Animal By-products Pet food of animal

origin China

Veterinary Medicines and Residues

Residues (live animals/animal products)

Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Russia

Contaminants (mycotoxins)

Azerbaijan, Egypt, Turkey*, Uzbekistan (* export-related inspection)

Contaminants (additives, illegal dyes) and Food Contact Materials

China

Genetically modified Feed and Food China, USA

Food of Plant Origin / Foodstuffs and Food Hygiene

Food irradiation India

Plant Protection Products

Pesticides Argentina, Dominican Republic, Russia, Thailand

Derogations South Africa Plant Health

General monitoring China, Israel, Japan (bonsai exports), Thailand, USA (Bemisia control)

A list of inspections, categorised by country in alphabetical order, is shown in Annex 4.

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Annex 1: Inspections in Member States, by Country in alphabetical order

MEMBER STATE SUBJECT

България (Bulgaria) • General Review • Classical Swine Fever Eradication Control Programme • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Genetically Modified Feed and Food • Import Controls (Food of Plant Origin) • Pesticides • Animal by-Products • Animal Welfare – Farms / Transport / Slaughter • BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin) • Scrapie

Belgique/België (Belgium) • General Review • Salmonella Control Programmes / Table Eggs • Animal Welfare (during Transport / Slaughter) • BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin) • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Intra-Community Trade in Live Animals

Česká republika (Czech Republic)

• General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Salmonella Control Programmes / Table Eggs • Food Hygiene I / HACCP2 • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin)

Danmark (Denmark) • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Food Contact Materials and Use of Food Additives • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin)

Deutschland (Germany) • General Audit

Eesti (Estonia) • General Audit

Ελλάδα (Greece) • General Review • Disease Contingency Plans • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Eradication Control

Programmes • Feed Safety • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products) • Scrapie

2 HACCP = Hazard analysis and critical control points

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MEMBER STATE SUBJECT

España (Spain) • General Audit3

France • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Poultry Meat • Genetically Modified Feed and Food • Animal by-Products • BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin)

Ireland • General Audit

Italia (Italy) • African Swine Fever and Swine Vesicular Disease Eradication Control Programmes

• Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Salmonella Control Programmes / Table Eggs • Plant Pest Outbreaks (Rynchophorus ferrugineus) • Animal by-Products • Animal Welfare (during Transport / Slaughter)

Κύπρος (Kypros)/Kıbrıs (Cyprus)

• General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Protected Zones (Daktylosphaira vitifoliae, Ips sexdentatus,

Leptinotarsa decemlineata) - (Plant Health)

Latvija (Latvia) • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin

Lietuva (Lithuania) • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Intra-Community Trade in Live Animals • Animal Welfare – Farms / Transport / Slaughter

Luxembourg • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin

Magyarország (Hungary) • General Audit

Malta • General Review • Animal by-Products

Nederland (Netherlands) • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Plant Pest Outbreaks (Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid);

Scientific Imports

Österreich (Austria) • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin

3 one inspection planned to ES (Ceuta) not included in the general audit: Production and storage of food of animal

origin / imports to the EU

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MEMBER STATE SUBJECT

Polska (Poland) • Disease Contingency Plans • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Eradication Control

Programmes • Animal Welfare – Farms / Transport / Slaughter • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin)

Portugal • General Review • Food Hygiene I / HACCP • Plant Pest Outbreaks (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin) • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products)

România (Romania) • General Review • Classical Swine Fever Eradication Control Programme • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Food Hygiene I / HACCP • Genetically Modified Feed and Food • Import Controls (Food of Plant Origin) • Pesticides • Animal by-Products • Animal Welfare – Farms / Transport / Slaughter • BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin) • Scrapie

Slovenija (Slovenia) • General Review • Hygiene Package / Food of Animal Origin • Intra-Community Trade in Live Animals

Slovensko (Slovakia) • General Audit

Suomi/Finland • Food Hygiene I / HACCP

Sverige (Sweden) • General Review • Intra-Community Trade in Live Animals

United Kingdom • General Review • Baby Food • Plant Pest Outbreaks (Phytophthora kernoviae) • Animal by-Products • Animal Welfare (during Transport / Slaughter) • Import/Transit Controls/Border Inspection Posts (Import

of Animals and Food of Animal Origin)

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Annex 2: Inspections in EFTA Countries, by Country in alphabetical order

EFTA COUNTRYSUBJECT

Iceland • Fish / Fishery Products

Switzerland • Milk / Dairy Products, Red Meat / Meat Products • Feed Additives and Pre-Mixtures • Import Controls (Live Animals / Products of Animal

Origin)

Annex 3: Inspections in Candidate Countries and Western Balkans, by Country in alphabetical order

CANDIDATE COUNTRY SUBJECT

former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the

• General Review • General Review Animal and Public Health • Food of Plant Origin

Hrvatska / Croatia • General Review • General Review Animal and Public Health • Food of Plant Origin • Animal Welfare – Farms / Transport / Slaughter

Türkiye / Turkey • General Review Animal and Public Health • Food of Plant Origin • Import Controls / Border Inspection Posts (Live Animals

and Animal Products) • Fishery Products

Albania • General Review

Bosnia and Herzegovina • General Review

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Annex 4: Inspections in Third Countries, by Country in alphabetical order

THIRD COUNTRY SUBJECT

Argentina • Red Meat / Meat Products • Pesticides • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products)

Australia • Red Meat / Meat Products; Milk / Dairy Products

Azerbaijan • Contaminants (mycotoxins)

Bangladesh • Fish / Fishery Products

Benin • Fish / Fishery Products

Botswana • Red Meat / Meat Products

Brazil • Red Meat / Meat Products • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products)

Cameroon • Fish /Fishery Products

China • Fish / Fishery Products • Poultry Meat Products • General Monitoring (Plant Health) • Genetically Modified Feed and Food • Pet food of Animal Origin • Contaminants (Additives, Illegal Dyes); Food Contact

Materials

Congo, the democratic republic of

• Fish / Fishery Products

Dominican Republic • Pesticides

Ecuador • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products)

Egypt • Contaminants (mycotoxins)

Eritrea • Fish / Fishery Products

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THIRD COUNTRY SUBJECT

Faroe Islands • Fish / Fishery Products

Ghana • Fish / Fishery Products

Greenland • Live Bivalve Molluscs

Hong-Kong • Pre-listing Evaluation

India • Milk / Dairy Products • Fish / Fishery Products • Food Irradiation • Feed Additives & Pre-Mixtures • Gelatine

Indonesia • Pre-listing Evaluation

Israel • Fish / Fishery Products • Poultry Meat / Poultry Meat Products • General Monitoring (Plant Health)

Japan • Pre-listing Evaluation • Fish / Fishery Products / Live Bivalve Molluscs • General Monitoring (Bonsai exports) – (Plant Health) • Feed Additives & Pre-Mixtures

Kazakhstan • Fish / Fishery Products / Aquaculture

Mauritania • Live Bivalve Molluscs

Mauritius • Fish / Fishery Products

Mexico • Pre-listing Evaluation • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products)

Moldova • Pre-listing Evaluation • Eggs / Egg Products

Myanmar • Fish / Fishery Products

Namibia • Red Meat / Meat Products • Fish / Fishery Products

New Zealand• Milk / Dairy Products, Red Meat / Meat Products • Fish / Fishery Products / Live Bivalve Molluscs

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THIRD COUNTRY SUBJECT

Papua New Guinea • Fishery Products

Paraguay • Red Meat / Meat Products

Russia • Pre-listing Evaluation • Milk / Dairy Products • Fish / Fishery Products • Pesticides • Residues (Live Animals/Animal Products)

Singapore • Pre-listing Evaluation

South Africa • Red Meat / Meat Products • Fish / Fishery Products • Derogations (Plant Health)

Swaziland • Red Meat / Meat Products

Thailand • Fish / Fishery Products • General Monitoring (Plant Health) • Pesticides

Turkey • Contaminants (mycotoxins) (export-related inspection)

Ukraine • Milk / Dairy Products

Uruguay • Red Meat / Meat Products

United States • Milk / Dairy Products • Fish / Fishery Products / Live Bivalve Molluscs • Genetically Modified Feed and Food • General Monitoring (Bemisia control) – (Plant Health)

Uzbekistan • Contaminants (mycotoxins)

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